Trinidad

The houses in Trinidad (41)

Trinidad, The Pearl of the Caribbean

The city of Trinidad, originally called Villa de la Santísima Trinidad, founded in 1514, was initially a site of Taino American Indians and it was one of the seven original cities of Cuba, founded by Diego Velázquez. It is today part of the Sancti Spiritus central province, but, despite it is not the regional capital (since the capital has the same name of the province Sancti Spiritus), it is surely the most important city from the touristic and historic points of view and, for this reason it's called The Pearl of Caribbean or also The Colonial Jewel of Cuba.

Trinidad in Context

Until 1975, the Sancti Spiritus province, together with Cienfuegos and Villa Clara, were part of a larger province named Las Villas which, after an administrative division was split into three. In addition to the regional capital, Sancti Spiritus also has seven other boroughs which are Cabaiguán, Fomento, Jatibonico, Yaguajai, La Sierpe, Taguasco and finally Trinidad.

Why Trinidad is so Unique?

Trinidad, aside from being one of the seven most ancient cities of Cuba is also the third oldest, between which we can also include Cienfuegos city, which is capital of the province with the same name. The road to Trinidad is coasting the sea for approximately 20 kilometers. During the nights of the Cuban winter, the big Caribbean crabs (which, according to a popular believing should not be eaten during the months which, in Spanish, doesn't contain the "r" letter), begin to migrate to the sea and many of them walk across the street, then you must be careful not to entertain yourself with the impressing spectacle your headlight will light up.

Trinidad is 335 Km away from Havana and it has a harbor called Casilda. Its most important characteristics is that it's one of the most important colonial and typical cities of Cuba, a must visit destination for anyone and especially for hikers, not to mention a very large number of available vacation rentals, including of great luxury. Trinidad is an important but simple city, it may be visited in just one day, by calmly walking across the streets and resting under the shadow of a patio of so many museums.

In Trinidad you'll also find the most ancient churchs of Cuba. From these temples, the main ones are the Iglesia Parroquial Mayor Santísima Trinidad, the Ermita de Santa Ana, the Convento San Francisco de Asís and the Ermita de la Candelaria de la Popa del Barco.

In the city still exist the home where the popular German scientist Humboldt, considered the second discover of Cuba after Colombus slept a night. But the charm of Trinidad doesn't consist only in monuments. Also, just like Cienfuegos, Baracoa and Bayamo, Trinidad has an unique atmosphere which can't be forgotten, not even in 100 years. But, the most impressing museum is the Museo Histórico Municipal. It also worth visit the Taller Alfarero, a large manufacture of ceramic where traditional techniques are used still today. And, finally, we can find one of the most beautiful beaches of Cuba, just outside the city, the Ancón beach, where there is also an hotel with the same name.

Trinidad, despite of its simplicity (and thanks to it) is also one of the most refined colonial cities of America. Despite of being a little town you can explore without means of transport, Trinidad is definitively one of the biggest attractions of Cuba, which seems immortalized into time, since in the street there are more horse carriages than cars and people reunite at the windows to see outside.

The Unique Climate of Trinidad

But, Trinidad is not only attractive for its historic interest and unique aspect, but also for its climatic diversity. The Sancti Spiritus province is plane in northern and southern boundaries (since both end with the sea), but it is mountainous in the middle, where the Escambray mountain chain is located. In the south of the Sancti Spiritus regional capital, you can also find the Presa Zaza, the bigger artificial lake of Cuba, reserved to the trout fishing and where there is a touristic station.

Hotels and Vacation Rentals in Trinidad

Trinidad has very few hotels and almost all are outside the city, but inside you will get a big number of casas particulares (vacation rentals) of all the types. Most of them feature a double view, the mountains from one side and the sea to the other. Most of these houses base their appeal on these climatic features, which are unique in Cuba. The vacation rentals in Trinidad only wait to be discovered either by beach tourists and those wanting to explore the true interior of Cuba.

Massive tourism usually associated with the biggest hotel chains of Varadero never invaded Trinidad, where, as we had seen, there are little hotels and a lot of private homes for rent. Therefore Trinidad remains a more natural homing and personalized place, full of history, natural beauty and wild life. The vacation rentals in Trinidad was about 300 between 1997 and 2010 but now their number considerably increased.

A Minimalist History of Trinidad

Since its foundation, Trinidad was initially an asylum for smugglers and pirates and this lasted up to the XVIII century. These smugglers brought goods from Jamaica, especially gold and slaves. But all this changed since the IXX century, when the slave revolt in Haiti provoked the arrival of French cultivators and where Trinidad restored its little empire. Since then, the city knew a bog development until the first Independence War devastated the sugar plantations and Trinidad got to shadow again.

The gold age of Trinidad was short, just like the one of Sancti Spíritus. The rebelliousness of slaves in the plantations, an intense European competence and, finally, the infighting of the Independence War, considerably affected local and national the sugar cane industry.

Present and Future, Back to Glory

Nevertheless today, since that Cuba became one of the major touristic destinies, Trinidad is rising again and knowing a new big step. There is not tourist in Cuba (among these who want to really visit the country), who don't visit or has visited Trinidad. Therefore this historic city come back to its golden age and probably it will have a bright future.